Vestibule-door and platform controlling mechanism.



No. 876,397. PATENTED JAN.14. 1908..

P. CfRBYNOLD S. VBSTIBULE DOOR AND PLATFORM CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAE-11. 1907.

F j J wvenfoz i F 7 c. witnesses ByHOZdS FRANK O. REYNOLDS, OF COLUMBUS, OI'llO.

VES'IIBULE-DOOR AND PLATFORM CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1908.

Application filed March 11. 1907. Serial No. 861.712.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK O. REYNOLDS, citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VestibuleDoor and Platform Controlling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to vestibule door and platform controlling mechanism for use upon cars and has for its object the provision of mechanism of this character by which the trap door provided for closing the space at the top of thecar steps may be first swung up against the end of the car and the door may then be swung back against said trap door, both of these movements being accomplished by the manipulation of a single handle.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is an end view of a car having the invention applied thereto, showing the trap door and vestibule door in their open positions, Fig. 2 is a vertical section upon line y yof Fig. 1, illustrating the parts in the position in which they lie when the trap door and vestibule door are both closed, Fig. 3 is a horizontal section upon line :c-x of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a detail view of a locking mechanism which looks the vestibule door in its closed position, Fig. 5 is a detail view upon an enlarged scale of a portion of said locking mechanism, and, Fig. 6 is a detail view of a swivel connection between a vertically movable rod and its head hereinafter described.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the floor of the car and 6 designates the steps leadingto the platform of the car. A trap door which is illustrated in dotted lines at 8 in Figs. 1 and 4 is hinged upon a rod 9, said trap door lying to the right of rod 9 in Fig. 2, the partial rotation of said rod 9 serving to raise or lower the trap door according to the direction in which said rod is turned. Connected to the rod 9 is a crank arm 10. Pivoted to a rigid extension 11 of this crank arm is a link 12. This link is in turn pivoted at 13 to the head 14 of a vertically movable rod 15. The head 14 of the rod is mounted to turn with relation to the remainder of the red, the detail construction by which this is accomplished being clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

By referring to said .ligure, it will be seen that the portion 15 of the rod is provided with a headed stem 16 which projects through an opening 17 formed through a portion of the head. 14, the head of the stem 16 lying in a cavity 18 formed in the head 14. The upper end of the rod 15 travels in a tubular member 19 which is secured by a plate 20 to the end of the car. The lower end of this tubular member is secured by a plate 21 to the platform of a car. This rod passes through an opening 22 formed through the platform of the car, said opening being lined by a bushing 23.

An annular plate which is Z-shaped in cross section and which is indicated at 24: (see Fig. 2) forms a bearing for a sleeve 25. The rod 15 passes through this sleeve and is of such shape in cross section (see Fig. 3) that rotation of the rod will also impart rotation to said sleeve. A pinion 26 is provided with slots 27 (see Fig. 3) into which lugs 28 of the sleeve 2-5 enter, by virtue of which construction, rotation of the sleeve will in turn impart rotation to the pinion. A collar 29 which is threaded upon the lower end of the sleeve retains the pinion in the proper position.

The pinion 26 meshes with a segment 30. This segment is integral with a shaft 31 which is journaled in a bracket 32. This shaft is continued. at 33 to form a crank arm and this crank arm is pivoted at 31 to a rod 35, the movement of which actuates the vestibule door. This rod, 35 (see Fig. 1) is pivoted at 36 to a rigid extension 37 of the vestibule door 38, said door being hinged in the usual manner at 39.

Pivoted at 10 to the upper end of the rod 15 is a handle 41, the free end of which carries a pin 42 which is adapted when the parts are in the position shown in -F 2, to enter an opening in the tubular member 19. A link 43 is pivoted at 4- 1 to the handle 41. This link is in turn pivoted at 45 to a second link 46, said second link being pivoted to a collar 4-7 which is slidablv mounted upon the tubular member 19. This tubular member 1 also carries a fixed collar 418 which serves a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth. A locking recess 49 formed in the face of the door 38 is adapted to receive the pin 42 when said door is open. and the parts are in the position illustrated in F 1, the handle 11 then serving to maintain said door in its open position. The tubular member 19 is slotted as at 50 to permit the handle to swing from the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 and'vice versa, it being understood that the slot 50 is quite a wide one and extends a quarter way around the tubular member 19. A pin 52 carried by the head 14 passes through a slotted extension 53 of the link 12 to impart additional rigidity to the structure at that point.

A locking rod 54 is mounted to slide in a recess of the door frame 55 and this rod carries pivoted latches 56 which are adapted when the rod is elevated to enter recesses 57 formed in the front edge of the door 38. This rod is automatically elevated after the door has been closed by the front edge of the trap door 8 (see Fig. 4) striking upon the outer end of a pivoted latch 58. This elevates the inner end of the latch and consequently elevates the rod and forces the latches into the recesses 57. When the trap door is elevated as will be hereinafter described, the edge thereof strikes the outer end 59 of a second pivoted latch and depresses the rod, thereby withdrawing the latches 56 from engagement with the recesses 57 and consequently unlocking the door.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that both the trap door and the vestibule door are closed and that it is desired to open them, the operator grasps the handle 41 shown in Fig. 2 and elevates it, said handle swinging from its pivot 40. This movement of the handle will through the links 43 and 46, cause the collar 47 to slide upwardly upon the tubular member 19 until said collar 47 abuts against the fixed collar 48. Continued upward movement of the outer end of the handle will then cause the rod 15 to be forced downwardly until the handle 41 lies in a substantially horizontal position. This downward movement of the rod 15 will force the link 12 downwardly. Since this link 12 is pivoted to the connection 11 and since this connection 11 is integral with the crank arm 10, it follows that this downward movement of the rod 15 will impart a partial rotation to the rod 9. the rod 9, it follows that this partial rotation of said rod will swing the trap door up to the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. 0 far this movement has been accomplished by elevating the outer end of. the handle 41 and said handle now lies in a horizontal position, but at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 1. The opening of the door is accomplished by swinging this handle in a horizontal plane over to the position shown in Fig. 1, the tubular member 19 being cut out as at 50 to permit the handle to swing to this latter position. is pivoted to the rod 15, it follows that a Since the trap door is secured to Since the handle 41 quarter turn will be given said rod. The.

swivel connection of the head 14 with the remainder of the rod 15, permits this quarter turn to be given to said rod without twisting the link 12 or the connection 11. This quarter turn of the rod 15 imparts a quarter revolution to the gear wheel 26, for it will be seen by referring to Fig. 3, that the rod 15 is not round in cross section, but upon the contrary is of such shape that when it is rotated, it will impart a like rotation to the sleeve 25 and the sleeve 25 in turn imparts rotation to the gear wheel 26 by reason of the fact that the lugs 28 engage the slots 27 of said gear wheel. This partial rotation of the gear wheel imparts a partial rotation to the segment 30 and since the crank arm 33 carried by said segment is connected to the rod 35, it follows that this rod will be drawn upon to throw the door open, or to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. After the door has been swung to its open position, the pin 42 is forced into the locking recess 49 to maintain said door in said open position. The detail construction of this locking recess forms no part of the present invention.

The provision of the lug 42 to enter an opening of the standard 19 and to enter the locking recess 49 of the door 38, results in holding the handle 41 in either a rigid vertical position or a rigid horizontal position. hen this handle is in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, it provides a hand grasp for the passengers passing up or down the steps 6, while when it is in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, it provides an efficient hand grasp for passengers passing from one car to another.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple and eflicient means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention, but while the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purpose for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth, but includes within its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a car, of a trap door and a vestibule door, a member which is vertically movable and capable of rotation, a handle connected to said member, and connections between said member and the trap door and connections between said member and the vestibule door.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a car, of a hinged trap door adapted to close the space at'the top of the steps of said car, a vestibule door, a tubularmember, a rod slidably disposed in said tubular member, a handle adapted to impart vertical movement and rotative movement to said rod, a pinion to which said rod is adapted to impart rotation, connections between said rod and the trap door, and connections between said pinion and the vestibule door.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a car, of a hinged trap door adapted to close the space at the top of the steps of said car, a vestibule door, a tubular member, a rod slidably disposed in said tubular member, ahandle adapted to impart verticalmovement and rotative movement to said rod, a pinion to which said rod is adapted to impart rotation, connections between said rod and the trap door, connections between said pinion and the vestibule door, and

automatic means controlled by the movement of the platform for locking the vestibule door in its closed position.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a car, of a hinged trap door adapted to close the space at the top of the steps of said car, a vestibule door, a tubular member, a rod slidably disposed in said tubular member, a handle adapted to impart vertical movement and rotative movement to said rod, a pinion to which said rod is adapted to impart rotation, connections between said rod and the trap door, connections between said pinion and the vestibule door, automatic means controlled by the movement of the platform for locking the vestibule door in its closed position, and means for locking said vestibule door in it's open position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK C. REYNOLDS.

WVitnesses FRANK G. CAMPBELL, L. CARL STOUGHTON. 

